UNHCR Representative to the Arab Republic of Egypt and to the League of Arab States, Mr. Karim Atassi met with Ms. Inas Fergany, Director of Refugee and Migration Department at League of Arab States, on January 15, 2017. The meeting started by remarking on the good relationship that the two institutions have been developing over the last two years. Subsequently it touched on the areas of cooperation for 2017, which included the follow-up on the Global Compact on responsibility sharing for refugees that should be adopted in 2018, the Arab Convention on Regulating the Refugee situation in the Arab World and the necessity to move forward with developing a National Consultative Asylum Law for the member states part of the Arab League.

UNHCR Egypt, in coordination with the Government of Egypt, inaugurated the latest “Schoolyard for All” projects implemented in 'Amr Ibn El As' and 'Omar Ibn el Khattab' Schools in Sheikh Zayed City. The project aims to create child-friendly spaces, allowing local ‪‎Egyptian and refugee school children the chance to play together in a safe environment and foster a better educational atmosphere.

UNHCR Egypt is pleased to share the good news of the expansion of the Y’ahl El-Hay - يا 'هل الحي project (People of the Neighbourhood) this year. After its successful implementation during 2015 in Obour City, UNHCR Egypt’s Community Support Programme (CSPs) is extending the Ya'ahl El-Hay project to three further locations including a Family Health Center in 10th Ramadan city, a Family Health Unit in 6th October city, and a Health Center in El Salam Awal area.

UNHCR Egypt hosted the Refugee and Egyptian Women’s Business Fair at the Greek Campus on March 18, 2017. There was a huge selection of art, jewelry, clothes and accessories combined with various delicious types of cuisines from Ethiopia, Syria and Sudan offered by over 85 participants. The event was held to mark International and National Women’s Day, and furthermore to recognize and celebrate women’s socio-economic empowerment and their relentless and important contribution to the economic development of Egypt.

UNHCR Egypt extended its reception hours last week and received 3,876 individuals (1,709 families), approaching the office to renew their documents, update their information and add new family members to their records. Continuous verification contributes to a better understanding of the profile and needs of people registered with UNHCR. This exercise has also considerably reduced the waiting period to obtain a renewal appointment in our offices, which decreased from 3 months to 1 month. Additionally, 86 Syrian families also had the opportunity to complete their vulnerability assessment interviews.

UNHCR Egypt commemorated WRD 2015 under the theme ‘Get Involved – Stand Together’. Ambassadors and business men attended the event.

UNHCR Egypt Representative Ms. Elizabeth Tan met with 350 teachers from all governorates in Egypt who have benefitted from the Active Learning Training programme, which was successfully implemented from the 31st of October to the 5th of November 2016. The event, held in the Student’s Union building, was organized by UNHCR in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. Ms. Tan thanked the Government of Egypt and the Ministry of Education for their generosity in hosting refugees, as well as giving their children access to public schools. The Representative also thanked the teachers, and acknowledged the efforts and patience they show the refugee children that may face difficulties in adapting in a new environment. Ms. Tan said that UNHCR is committed to support the Ministry of Education in delivering high quality education and ensuring that schools are a safe learning environment for both refugee and Egyptian children.

UNHCR Community Support Programmes (CSPs) on December 29, 2016, held reflective and informative training sessions on the experience of engaging with host and refugee communities in Egypt. The sessions reiterated the objectives of the projects, reviewed their processes, and explored new possibilities.

UNHCR organized a “Refugee Voices in Egypt: Refuge, Resilience and Exile” Photo Exhibition at the American University in Cairo for WRD

UN Women launched a training center in coordination with the National Council for Women in order to train Syrian refugees with soft skills.